Of Glares and Taunts
by strawberriez8800
Summary: Hidan/Sakura — "I'll break your pretty face if you don't stop it right now," She warned menacingly. Oh, he never expected this girl would actually punch him. Prequel to Of Hot Chocolate and Snowballs.


**It is an AU fic :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.**

**Summary: "I'll break your pretty face if you don't stop it right now," She warned menacingly. "Try me, bitch." He taunted with a sneer. Oh, he never expected this girl would actually punch him.**

x

Sakura stomped along the side pavement grumpily, heading towards the Konoha subway to catch a train home. "That bitch...Making me stay for an extra _two hours _because I went off at her. Who the hell does she think she is?" She hissed in fury under her breath.

The pinkette had a part time job at a twenty-four-seven pharmacy to ease her mother's financial needs as Sakura attempted to pay for her university education. The job was certainly enjoyable at times, but when she had to work until nine o'clock at night, it became a drag. That night, her petty manager commanded Sakura to stay for an extra two hours because the pinkette had picked on a nerve. It wasn't even Sakura's fault. The lady was being too bossy and stuck up, Sakura felt like she had to teach her lesson.

If Sakura knew it was going to cost her two hours late at night, she would definitely swallow her pride and control herself.

Her heels clattered loudly against the concrete stairs as she proceeded to the underground subway station. The noise echoed eerily around the deserted standby area. A row of empty benches stretched along the waiting hall beside the train tracks. Sakura took a seat on a bench and prayed the train would come soon.

It was eleven o'clock at night. It was not surprising that the station was deserted. Oh well, there should be a security guard somewhere...

Sakura decided she should ring home to notify her mother of her lateness or she'd get in some deep shit. Fishing out her mobile phone, the blank screen blatantly informed that the device ran out of battery. Groaning loudly, she shoved the appliance back into her pocket.

"I'm so screwed." She grumbled in disdain.

A soft cough alerted Sakura, snapping her into full attention. She glanced around quickly, only to see a tall figure standing with crossed arms against the vandalized wall, his head was dipped low as if he was trying to catch some sleep.

_Maybe, I can ask to borrow his phone or something... _With that thought in mind, she casually approached the silver haired man. Sakura hoped he wasn't a psychopath or anything, because that would mean a major pain in the ass. Judging by his hair color, he was most likely old. But he seemed a bit too muscular for a man in his fifties.

_Surely, a fifty year old dude wouldn't wear baggy cargo pants and combat boots, right...?_

"Hey, excuse me..." Sakura started politely.

The man looked at her lazily, his tired eyes glowed deep violet as they assessed her in a critical manner.

The pinkette was taken off guard by the appearance of the man. He only looked a few years older than her, yet she mistook him for an old timer. Oops.

He stayed silent as he looked away, uninterested.

Sakura decided to push her luck. "Can I, um, borrow your phone for a bit? Mine's out of power and...yeah." She chewed the inside of her cheeks as she waited for a response. When he didn't say anything, she prodded further. "Hey...will you—"

Abruptly, his sharp eyes returned to her as his rough and boyish facial features arranged into a frown. "Fuck off, can't you see I'm not in the mood?" His deep voice bit in annoyance. "Leave me alone, for fuck's sake."

Sakura staggered back a step, shocked by his rude and inconsiderate manner. "Okay, okay, chill out. You don't need to go off at me." With that, she trudged away from him. _Jeez, I got chewed out by two people in one night. What has the world come to?_

A few minutes later, the train announced its arrival. The doors slid open in a loud hiss and Sakura entered the cabin.

The white fluorescent light illuminated the steely-looking cabin. The bright light emphasized the emptiness of the surroundings. It had lost the usual busy flow of passengers and only a few people were present in the cabin.

The pinkette took a seat in relief and placed her handbag on her lap. In the corner of her eye, she noticed the silver haired man resting on a seat an aisle across from the row of seats she was seated at. With his arms crossed, he leaned back and angled his head against the wall of the cabin with his eyes closed. The light accentuated his prominent features, highlighting the bridge of his nose and the curve of his cheekbones. Even from a distance, Sakura could tell he was quite good looking.

As if sensing her attention, he opened his eyes and glanced at Sakura.

Her breath hitched and she turned away quickly in an attempt to mask her scrutiny.

As time passed, Sakura stared across the space absentmindedly, scanning an advertising poster plastered on the window. Suddenly, a rugged looking man walked over to Sakura's row of seats and took a spot near her.

Hiding her alert, she snuck a glimpse at the man. That was quite random. It wasn't as if the man just entered the train. He was just making over to her side from another aisle in the train. What was he doing?

She decided to ignore the strange man and scooted away from him as much as possible without appearing rude. Out of the blue, the man took the spot by her and grinned. "Hello, pretty."

Biting the inside of her left cheek, she offered a reluctant reply and looked away.

"Come on, why so shy? You looked bored, let me entertain you." He commented in a low voice and circled an arm around her shoulders.

"Ex-excuse me, I'm getting off soon, so..." She scrambled to her feet hurriedly and headed to the exit, frantically waiting to escape at the next stop.

"Hey...what's wrong?" The man whined, approaching her again.

A figure approached the man and jerked him away, making him fall onto floor. "Stay the fuck away from her. Don't you think it's fucking pathetic for a man to harass a girl?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"None of your damned business, ass wipe." The silver haired man growled darkly. He turned to Sakura and caught her arm, leading her away from the man.

He stopped and pushed her down onto a seat and took the one beside her, staying silent as he once again crossed his arms. There was an awkward silence hovering between them.

"Thanks...?" Sakura offered with hesitation, squirming nervously beside the silver haired man.

With a dismissing grunt, he ignored her.

Annoyance started to rise within Sakura. This man was so irritating. "You're pretty rude, you know. When people say thanks, you should say something like 'you're welcome'." She snapped snidely.

A silver eyebrow twitched. "Shut up, will ya? I'm not a fucking moron and I don't need your lecture, dumb bitch."

Her jaw fell slack at his harsh demeanor. He was seriously begging to be bashed up, wasn't he? If it wasn't for his help earlier, she would've kicked him in the nuts already. He was infuriating. Swallowing her bubbling anger, she stayed quiet next to him.

As the train slowed to a halt at the next stop, the silver haired man rose from the seat and tossed Sakura a cool metallic object. "Take that as a precaution. I'll be getting off here."

Looking at her hands in confusion, she realized it was a pocket knife. What? A _pocket knife_? Stunned, she looked up to the man, who was already heading to the exit. "Oi, what the hell?" She called at him.

Right before he stepped out of the cabin, he tossed her an amused smirk and snuck into the dim-lit pavement outside the train.

Utterly bewildered, the pinkette shook her head slowly, replaying the earlier incident that occurred in that night. The image of his lopsided smirk flashed in her mind once again. "What a weirdo…"

Yeah, a damn sexy one at that.

x

"5000 yen, please." Sakura announced to the customer, who fished out some cash and handed it to her. With that, the customer gathered her items and left the pharmacy.

For the next half an hour or so, there were no customers who bought anything. Utterly bored, Sakura grabbed a nearby stool and sat behind the check-out counter, waiting for anyone to call for her assistance. With a yawn, she stretched her arms lazily, propping her chin up with her elbow on her lap.

"Haruno, this behaviour is not appropriate during your work time!" The manager hollered from the back of the store. "Unless you want to stay for extra time, you better get a grip!"

Clenching her fists in agitation, she held back a sarcastic retort. If she lost control again, she would have to work extra time, which was _not _what she wanted. Straightening herself, she presented her best attitude to shut that bitch up.

Then, a figure stepped into the store. The person had his hood up, so she couldn't see his face. Something about this person reminded her of the silver haired man she met a week ago at the subway. The hooded person was also wearing a pair of cargo pants. Hmm…could it be him?

Sakura quickly dismissed that thought. It didn't matter whether it was him or not. They were merely strangers, despite their strange encounter. But then, he _did _lend her his pocket knife. Did that mean he was counting on a second meeting? Sakura had always kept the weapon in her handbag, despite the fact that she would never use it. Who knows? Maybe the attacker would overpower Sakura and use that weapon to his or her advantage instead.

"Haruno, come over here please, this customer requested for you." The manager ordered.

Huh, why would someone ask for her in particular? She was just a staff. She wasn't even a pharmacist, yet. Recomposing herself, she left the counter and proceeded toward the back.

"This man requested for your service," her voice bit out grumpily, "I'll leave you to it, then, Haruno."

The manager left them alone and took over Sakura's position. The pinkette was busy trying to sneak a peek into the shadowed features of the person. As if sensing her curiosity, the man pulled the hood from his head, revealing his face.

"I knew it." Sakura concluded with a frown.

"You should be happy to see your savior once again, Dolly." The man murmured in a taunting manner.

Tossing her hair haughtily, she crossed her arms on her chest. "Quit the chit chat. What do you want help with?"

"Feisty, aren't you? Calm the fuck down. I'm here as a customer, there's no need to treat me like a pest." The silver haired man commented, scanning across the shelves with an intention to search for something.

"How ironic is it for someone like you to say that?" Her tone was jeering, "You were the one who bitched at me without a damn reason."

"Oh, that," A chuckle escape his mouth, "let's just say it wasn't the best day for me, aye? Now, now…let me see…go get some pain killers and some hangover pills. A good brand should be fine.

Sakura sighed dramatically, shaking her head. "Are you an idiot? Those things are right in the middle of the store. There's a whole shelf of them. Can't you just go look by yourself?"

The silver haired man smirked in amusement. "Such poor service, I feel sorry for your supervisor." With a glint in his eyes, he called to the lady. "Excuse me, your staff here refused to do her job and is being extremely—"

"Okay, okay!" Sakura said loudly, overpowering his stupid complaint. "I'll be right on it, _sir_, please wait for a moment."

The pinkette efficiently located the items and selected them for the man. When she returned to him, she stared at him in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing?" She demanded in a hushed voice to avoid attention from the manager.

"What the fuck does it look like, bitch?" He mocked, continuing his work of toppling over the medicine boxes from the shelf. One by one, they all dropped toward the carpeted floor which muffled the noises of the impact.

"Pick those up, you douche!" Sakura hissed furiously, checking to see if her manager knew that he was being such an immature moron. No luck. She was serving a line of people at the front.

Sensing Sakura's irritation, his sneer grew even wider. "I'm the customer, you're the worker. It's pretty obvious who has the upper hand here." With that said, he proceeded to the next shelf to make her life hell.

"Fuck you." She snarled in a quiet voice, bending down to arrange the items in place. This man was really pissing her off. But then, she had no choice. He was right—he was the one in power here. _Ugh._

As he was crouching down to mess up the items in the lower rows, Sakura tackled him from the side, throwing him off balance. He landed on the floor in a sitting position with his legs stretched out. Enraged, the pinkette bent over and pressed him down on the shoulders. He could easily pry Sakura off, but he remained in place with that infuriating smirk on his face.

"I'll break your pretty face if you don't stop it right now," She warned menacingly, her emerald eyes glaring daggers at his deep violet orbs. She was_itching _to throw a punch, to bitch slap him, to do _anything _that would make him feel sorry for ever messing with her.

Showing no signs of alarm, he merely grinned. "Try me, _bitch_." He sniggered shamelessly.

Without warning, Sakura drew back a hand and shot a punch at his jaw with all her might. The boiling anger and annoyance were all infused in that strike, which made it deadlier.

"Fucking hell!" The silver haired man cursed loudly, rubbing the sore spot on the left side of his face. "You actually punched me, you bitch!"

Sakura, however, was distracted by the sharp pain throbbing in her finger. It seemed like she sprained it when she threw the punch. "Ow, ow, ow…" Instinctive tears sprang to her eyes, which she quickly blinked away. There was _no way _she would let him see them.

"Ugh…" The man grumbled in disdain, still massaging his sore jaw. When he noticed Sakura's swollen fingers, he doubled over in fits of laughter. "What a fucking moron. You probably hurt yourself more than me. Idiot."

"Shut the hell up." Sakura bit out angrily, pressing on her injured fingers to suppress the pain. Despite her own injury, it satisfied the pinkette that he received a massive punch from her. That douche bag totally deserved it, alright.

"Haruno, I suppose you can resume your position at the counter now. Hurry up!" The manager's voice yelled from the front of the store. Sakura felt genuinely relief that she didn't witness what had just happened. Surely, it would mean major trouble for Sakura if she did.

Before the pinkette headed to the counter, she stepped on the man's shoe as hard as possible when she walked past him.

As Sakura took her position at the check-out, the man approached her to pay for his items. "That was…interesting, I suppose," he commented.

Ignoring his piercing eyes on her, she dutifully scanned the items and deposited them in a bag and handed it to him. He paid with his credit card, so he had to sign the receipt. Sakura glanced at his signature, catching his name. _Hidan._

Taking the bag, he swiped a hand at the mini shelf on the counter that held some sugar free gum. Before Sakura could stop it, it toppled over and the packages spilled from the shelf onto the counter.

"What the hell!" Frustrated, Sakura shouted at him, who was already at the exit. Impulsively, she grabbed a box of gum and threw it at Hidan, who easily dodged it. He slithered through the door and headed off, giving her a last wave.

"Haruno, what just happened? Clean up the mess, now!"

x

It had been another week since Sakura's last encounter with Hidan at the pharmacy. The pinkette genuinely prayed that he wouldn't appear anytime soon. It was as if whenever he showed up, things always went wrong. But then, she couldn't deny the fact that sometimes she'd be on the lookout for signs of silver hair in the crowd.

_Jeez, that douche is really getting to me. Ugh._

Sakura had just gotten off her shift, and today she was taking the bus instead of the train, mainly because she was dropping by a friend's house before heading home. As she waited at the bus stop outside the pharmacy.

"Hey, lil' bitch," That familiar mocking voice sounded, "Fancy meeting you here."

The tall figure emerged into her view. He had silver hair. _Speaking of the devil... _"Oh, that makes the two of us." She shot back with piercing sarcasm. "What are you doing here?" Sakura noticed that the bruise on his jaw was still noticeable, even after a week since the strike.

Hidan shrugged nonchalantly, "I was heading to the pharmacy, and I saw you here."

"Right. Thanks for bothering to say hi, then. How very nice of you." She muttered curtly, "since you're now done with that, what else do you want?"

"You owe me, so I'm asking you a favor." He sauntered closer and dropped onto the silver bench, propping his right foot on the left knee and rested his arms on the back of the bench.

Sakura raised her eyebrows, confused. "Since when did I ever owe you, douche?"

"Since the day you decided to leave a fucking mark on my face," he replied smoothly and stroked his jaw. "Actually, forget that, that's just a stupid excuse."

"An excuse for what?" Sakura was totally lost.

He stood briskly and stepped closer to her, invading her personal space. Trapping Sakura against the metal wall of the shelter, he bent down to whisper into her ear, his warm breath fanning over her skin. "Go out on a date with me,_Sakura_."

"Wh-_what_?" Sakura exclaimed with incredulity, pushing him away so that she could actually breathe without having a panic attack. "What did you just ask? And how did you know my name?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, you're really a dumb bitch, aren't you?" Hidan sighed in exasperation. "I just asked you out and that's the response I get?"

This guy was really asking for trouble. Despite that, she was genuinely happy that he took the initiative. But, Sakura's pride always got in the way. "Of course! Why would I go out with you?"

The way he looked at her almost suggested that he knew what she was really thinking. "You don't need a reason for that, honey." His typical smirk went on show again. "Give me your phone for a second."

The pinkette rolled her eyes at his idiotic command. Who did he think he was? "I'm not a moron, you know."

"I said, _give it._" He snarled darkly, looming over Sakura as his sharp violet eyes blazed.

The pinkette's eyes widened for a split moment, stunned by the brisk change of his manner. "Whatever." She mumbled flippantly in an attempt to hide her alarm and fished out her phone.

Hidan grabbed it and keyed in some numbers. A few seconds later, another mobile phone rang and he retrieved the device from his pocket. Apparently satisfied, he handed the phone back to her. "Thanks for the number, Dolly."

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" She protested like a child, trying to reach for his phone and delete the missed call he received. "You're such a jerk!"

Hidan was way out of the line. Even if Sakura liked him (which, let's admit, she totally did), it didn't mean he could do anything he wanted.

Agitated, Sakura swung her right fist, aiming to strike his cheek. But this time, Hidan caught notice quickly and captured her wrist, locking it in his strong grasp. "The same tricks never work twice, Sakura." He murmured huskily and pulled her to his chest.

With a hand holding the back of her head, he planted a soft kiss on her lips, keeping a strong hold on her wrist just in case she decided to punch him again. It was an innocent, chaste kiss. Sakura would never, ever admit out loud, but Hidan's lips were so soft and warm. At first, she was so shocked she didn't know what was happening. When her mind made sense of reality, she desperately craved for more, but he pulled away after a teasing lick on her lower lip. _That sadistic bastard._

By then, the bus had arrived.

Releasing Sakura, he leaned to her ear and whispered, "I'll call you later, Dolly." And then, he sauntered away, leaving the pinkette dumbstruck. She stood there and stared at his retreating back view with her jaws falling slack. _He really is a weirdo._

"Hey, miss, are you getting on the bus?"

x

**How was it? I hope the ending doesn't seem rushed or anything. Did you like it? Please review xD**

**PS: check out the sequel Of Hot Chocolate and Snowballs! You can find it in my profile :)**


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